ORLANDO, Fla.— Waiting all night, that's what a mother did as she waited 15 hours for a FHP trooper to get out to the scene of a crash.


What You Need To Know


The accident happened at Westwood Boulevard and Grand Horizons Boulevard, which is close to SeaWorld. Troopers said the first call came in at about 5:50 p.m. on Sunday. They eventually got to the scene around 9 a.m. on Monday.

For Katrina Dailey, family is everything.

Dailey said she was out Door Dashing to earn some extra cash for the family, when her and another driver collided, totaling her car.

“It was scary. I (don't) want to go through that again,” said Dailey.

What came next made things even worse. They called for a crash report and she waited 15 hours for a trooper.

“I didn’t feel important to them. It’s like they didn’t care,” said Dailey.

Spectrum News 13 called to find out why it took so long. FHP said the agency is “below critical staffing” when it comes to troopers on the road. When crashes happen, they prioritize fatalities and injuries. 

“If I wasn’t falling out half dead going to the hospital in an ambulance, then it don’t matter,” said Dailey.

When Dailey’s daughter- and son-in-law heard the news, they went to the scene of the crash immediately, waiting with Katrina for FHP to answer the call.

“The whole time I’m really kind of ticked off because she’s in pain and we’re still sitting here waiting," said Terrance Coware. "I’m definitely not going to leave her somewhere where she doesn’t know by herself. She’s not gonna be there by herself.”

As for FHP, the agency said it’s actively recruiting more troopers and are offering a pay raise as an incentive starting July 1.

FHP told Spectrum News 13 when the call came in Sunday night the agency was already working on 30 crashes. News 13 asked the agency what its average response time is, but News 13 has not received a response.

Editor's note: FHP has responded to Spectrum News 13 and the story is here.